consta

Forms

consta (third-person singular present constă, past participle constat, third-person subjunctive constea) 1st conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnstō (“to stand firm; to consist”), a learned loan from Latin.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin verb is formed from con- and stō (“to stand”), whose Romanian descendant is sta.^[2] Tiktin describes it as a new formation on that verb, modelled on the Latin verb, and it is conjugated like that verb.^[5][6]

The same Latin verb survives in the old inherited word custa “to live, to last”, and Italian costare gave Romanian costa “to cost”, so the three are doublets.^[1][7][8] DELR also records that word as an old variant of this verb, a form adapted to Romanian sound patterns.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is a Vienna calendar of 1794, with the sense “to consist of, to be made up of”;^[2][5] Tiktin also dates the word to 1794.^[2][5] MDA2's first record is the Laurian–Massim dictionary of 1871.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept its first sense, “to be made up of”, construed with din “of”: Laurian and Massim's example is Omul constă din corp și suflet “man consists of body and soul”.^[6][4] With în “in” it means “to lie in, to amount to”, as in Scriban's fericirea constă în moderațiune “happiness lies in moderation”.^[9][10] In both uses it is a synonym of consista.^[3][4]

The adjective constătător “consisting of” was formed on the verb on the model of stătător;^[2][6] DELR dates it to 1895.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1794 – first record, in a Vienna calendar.^[2][5]
• 1871 – in the Laurian–Massim dictionary.^[3]
• 1895 – the adjective constătător “consisting of”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To consist of, to be made up or formed of (with din): Apartamentul constă din trei camere.^[4][3]
2. To lie in, to reside in, to have its essence in (with în).^[10][9]
3. To be based on; to be defined by.^[3]

Word family

• constătător

Related words

• custa
• costa
• consista
• sta
• Latin cōnstō

Usage notes

DEX gives only third-person forms: constă, constau; the subjunctive is să constea.^[4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. consta
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 490
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 224
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. constá
6. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. consta
7. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. custa
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2170
9. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 337
10. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. consta